I was saddened to hear about the failure of two water mains in Waterbury that caused chaos last month. I am shocked to hear that anyone is proposing state or federal funding to pay for the repairs.
Waterbury has grossly underfunded its infrastructure for decades. It reportedly put no money aside for necessary and expected upgrades.
The water main that first failed was installed in 1901. It caused the failure of an adjacent pipe installed in the 1970’s. Most of Waterbury’s system was laid between 1890 and 1920.
Why should Waterbury’s lack of investment in its water distribution system become the burden of the rest of the state or the federal government? The water main breaks were not due to an unforeseen natural disaster or terrorism.
The water mains failed due to extreme old age and there was no surprise that this would eventually occur.
Poor governmental decisions and lack of planning should be addressed by the city of Waterbury, and no one else.
Philip Dunn, Farmington